


Meet You at the Dark Side

by CourtesyTrefflin



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Ahsoka Tano Needs a Hug, Anakin Skywalker & Ahsoka Tano Are Siblings, Angst with a Happy Ending, Dark Ahsoka Tano, F/M, Family, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Minor Padmé Amidala/Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Anakin Skywalker are Siblings, Padmé Amidala and Anakin Skywalker Adopt Ahsoka Tano, Protective Anakin Skywalker, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) Spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-22
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-15 17:28:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,868
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29562615
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CourtesyTrefflin/pseuds/CourtesyTrefflin
Summary: She was a slave until Count Dooku found her. Ever since, Ahsoka Tano has been trained to become his apprentice. Her sole goal is to please him, to become the best Dark Sider she can be. All that begins to change in her fateful encounter with Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi. They see something behind the mask she wears, and they refuse to leave her in the dark.
Relationships: Ahsoka Tano & Asajj Ventress, Anakin Skywalker & Ahsoka Tano, CT-7567 | Rex & Anakin Skywalker, Dooku & Ahsoka Tano, Dooku & Obi-Wan Kenobi, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Ahsoka Tano, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Anakin Skywalker, Padmé Amidala & Ahsoka Tano, Padmé Amidala/Anakin Skywalker
Comments: 14
Kudos: 69





	1. Meeting on Christophsis

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As I'm sure you can guess, this is a dark Ahsoka story. :P It's almost like an alternate version of Brotherhood where Ahsoka is Dooku's apprentice, but it'll be very, very different... I hope y'all enjoy it! :D

"No guards," Anakin Skywalker observes, bringing the speeder to halt in front of the towering building. It stands out high against the surroundings, spotted with lights from the endless windows. Night has fallen, the dark sky of Christophsis covered with black and dark blue swirls.

The only source of illumination on the platform outside is from the lights within the building, but it's still enough to see with. "No barricades," he adds quietly, looking from side to side as he and Obi-Wan Kenobi ascend the steps, "You'd think the Separatist headquarters would be better protected." After fighting so long, the Separatists should be expecting someone to find this place and come here eventually. They must be planning something. Typical.

"But clearly, keeping us out is not what they intend," Obi-Wan replies, walking up the steps to join his former padawan. He raises a hand, opening the tall double doors in front of them with the Force. It reveals a much darker room tinged with aqua. It's empty, so they continue forwards to another much larger room. Yellow light spills through the nearby windows. The walkway continues straight forwards to a high staircase.

"So, this is the belly of the beast," Anakin mutters, glancing around the room. He doesn't see anyone, at least not in plain sight. Even so, a thick darkness hangs over the room, putting him on edge. Not that he wouldn't be on edge being in a Separatist base, but there's something – more like someone – lurking in the shadows.

A noise from beside them catches Anakin's attention. A black-cloaked figure walks out of the darkness, moving forwards to stand in front of them. She throws back her hood, revealing her face. It's a Togruta, and – Force, she's still a child. Does Dooku really think someone so young could beat them? Has he gone mad? She's considerably shorter than both of them and judging from that and the size of her montals, Anakin's pretty sure she's about fourteen. Togrutas live longer than humans, so considering her age, her mind in human standards is probably closer to eleven. What is someone like her doing out here?

Her orange skin is covered with the usual white markings of her species, with blue and white striped lekku going just past her shoulders. She stares up at them, her blue eyes burning with fierce determination.

"And who are you supposed to be?" Anakin demands, crossing his arms. Is this some sort of joke?

"I'm surprised you didn't already figure that out," retorts the Togruta, shrugging off her dark cloak, letting it fall to the floor. She withdraws two lightsabers. The red blades hiss to life in her hands, held in the reverse grip. So, she's the Sith assassin there's been rumors about? Is she seriously going to challenge them? How could she presume to beat a Jedi Knight and Jedi Master in a fight, or is there some other purpose to this? Like a distraction. Well, it's a distraction they're going to deal with easily.

Anakin withdraws and ignites his lightsaber, as does Obi-Wan.

The Togruta turns and jumps up the stairs, spinning around to look down at them. "My loyal informant let me know you were coming," she smirks. Of course, he did, whoever he is. Anakin can only hope Rex and Cody have the situation well under control back at the base.

"Well then, we thank you for your hospitality," quips Obi-Wan as they walk up to the bottom of the staircase. Anakin is the first to attack, jumping half-way up the stairs. The assassin darts forwards to parry the first blow. He pulls back, striking towards her again. This time her left blade raises in sync with her right, and the three blades lock together.

Obi-Wan runs up to join the fight as the duel travels to the bottom of the stairs, and the Togruta flips over their heads, attacking from behind. She's on the defensive within moments between dodging and parrying their attacks, scarcely finding a time to attempt landing her own blows.

She begins backing up towards the stairs, finally reaching out and detaching a stone tile from the wall, throwing it at Obi-Wan. He whirls around and cuts it in half, but she takes the momentary distraction as an opportunity. Sprinting up the staircase in front of them, she turns right and darts up another.

The girl isn't that good of a fighter, Anakin realizes. She's hardly padawan age, so it's not surprising. She small and fast, and insanely agile compared to humans, which she's using to her advantage. But that doesn't mean he's about to let her escape.

He bolts after, Obi-Wan a step behind. Seeing them coming, the Togruta skids to a halt a few feet away from the top of the next staircase, ripping a dozen tiles off the wall with the Force and throwing them at the Jedi. Though apparently, she's really skilled in the Force, Anakin has to add to himself, throwing his hands up to catch them all, following his former master's example. The tiles spin around, flying back towards her.

The assassin starts raising her hands again, but she's not fast enough. She dodges most, but one of them hits her, throwing her to the ground. She lands on her back a few feet away.

Anakin stalks forwards as the girl sits up, raising her head. Anger burns in her eyes, mixed with a sense of fiery determination. He barely hears Obi-Wan's shout of warning before her lightsabers ignite through the floor, the tiles cracking instantly, then giving out altogether.

The Jedi Knight lands on his back many feet below, glancing over to see Obi-Wan beside him. Apparently, not even Obi-Wan was far behind Anakin enough to escape when the floor gave way.

"You've served your purpose," the girl informs them, pacing back and forth at the edge of the shattered stone.

Clearly, she was trying to trap them. There's no way Dooku would be an idiot enough to send someone like that to actually kill them. Which means... "We have to get back. Now!" Anakin hisses, scrambling to his feet. Whatever is happening back at the base, it's more than he was afraid of. He can't shake the feeling the clones are in danger, and they have to go help them.

"Maybe you didn't realize, but it's already too late," the Sith assassin – if that's what she is – retorts with a smirk. "So hard to know whom to trust these days, isn't it?"

"I was expecting someone who actually knows how to fight," Anakin retorts, smirking at the irritation that flashes across her face. He glances over at Obi-Wan. "What's the plan, Master?"

"Bringing us here was a mistake," the Jedi Master calls up to the Togruta. "You've overestimated your abilities."

"To the contrary, it seems you've overestimated your intelligence," she promptly retaliates, "Come on and get me, boys!" She whirls around, sprinting out of sight.

Obi-Wan Force-jumps up to the edge of the broken floor above them, Anakin landing next to him a split second later. The girl is racing across the room with remarkable speed, heading towards the window. They follow, but her lightsabers are cutting through the glass even as she runs. It shatters from an unseen wave through the Force, and she jumps right out.

The Jedi jump through after, landing outside on a platform. The assassin is out of sight, but the edge of the platform is surrounded by a railing, which they immediately head to, lightsabers still ignited. Down on the ground floor below, the building is surrounded by droids, and there's a spider droid on the side right under the balcony. They are way outnumbered, and alone. Besides, the clones need their help.

"You didn't tell us you were bringing friends," Obi-Wan quips, staring down at the Togruta as they spot her standing on one of the droids far below.

"Was there a reason I had to tell you?" the girl smirks, "Now we're gonna take control of this world."

Anakin casts a sideways glance at Obi-Wan, a silent communication going between them. Sure, they could win this battle alone, but the clones clearly need their help back at the base, and they have to hurry. Moving in unison, they jump over the railing, landing on the parts of the droid anchoring it to the building.

The Sith assassin stumbles atop the droid, but Anakin doesn't risk sparing a glance back at her. The droid is in free-fall now, hurdling to the ground a hundred feet below. Two droids on speeders are coming towards them. Anakin jumps onto one, throwing the droid off and sliding onto the seat. The speeder flies around the left corner, circling around to the front. Obi-Wan is rounding the opposite corner.

Together, they fly into the night, leaving the Sith assassin far behind. As they fly, Anakin can't help but find his mind wandering back to the Togruta. How did she even end up with Dooku? She's so young, far too little to be in a war like this.

"I still can't believe someone so young was sent to fight us," he remarks at last.

"She has some skill," Obi-Wan admits, "And she was just being used as a distraction. Dooku wouldn't have sent her if she was meant for anything else."

"But how did she even end up with him?" Anakin asks the rhetorical question, "Why would he have an apprentice so young?" The question is left unanswered and silence settles over them once more. If she was a Jedi, she'd still be a youngling. She really shouldn't be doing things like this – Wait. Why he is being protective of a Sith, anyway? It's not like he even knows her. The question almost immediately answers itself. No child so young should have a life like that.

***

Ahsoka Tano leaps off the droid right before it can smash to the ground, landing a few feet away. The distant sound of engines reaches her, and she looks up. The retreating figures of the two Jedi on droids' speeders disappear between the buildings. It's perfectly fine with her. The mission was accomplished already, and Slick did his work. That's all that matters, provided he did his part of the plan and destroyed most of their weapons. All she needed to do was keep the Jedi occupied so they couldn't interfere.

"Prepare to march on the city," she orders the droids, "Have General Loathsom delay the Jedi as long as possible. I will need time to execute the next part of my Master's plan." All the Jedi need to be fully occupied, especially these two. They might track her if they aren't. No one can know her destination until the next mission is fully accomplished.

"Yes, Mistress," the droid replies dutifully in its mechanically monotonous voice before turning and striding away to carry out her command.

Good. It's finally time for Ahsoka to make her departure from Christophsis now. She'll be heading straight to Tatooine to kidnap Rotta, Jabba's son. It doesn't sound too hard, at least not compared to fighting Jedi who have much more experience than she does. After all, the battle sure to ensue will be mostly in the air. There's hardly a way she could lose a space battle against non-Jedi, especially if they didn't suspect it. And for once, she doesn't care an ounce about the people who will die. After all, who wants those gangsters? The galaxy is better off without them.

A sigh escaping her, Ahsoka heads around the building to collect her cloak. She doesn't need to leave that behind here. She hates this war. She hates running around the galaxy thrown from one mission to the next without enough time to stop and just breathe. Especially when it's a conflict she wouldn't be in if not for Dooku's master, Sidious. Ahsoka shudders at the very thought of him.

In some ways, though, she's not sure she minds fighting against the Jedi and Republic. They've completely forgotten their original purpose. They're utter failures. Dooku is confident the war can change things for the better, though Ahsoka has no idea how. She doesn't see anything changing for the better, just causing more destruction everywhere. It's not been helping anyone, at least not from what she can tell. There's a lot going on she don't know, she supposes, because Dooku doesn't want to tell her much. Either because he thinks she's too young, or because Sith Masters don't tell their apprentices everything. Maybe both. But all Ahsoka sees everywhere is destruction, and she hates it.

She hates seeing it happen and being a part in it, but she still can't deny a small measure of satisfaction fighting the Republic. They've failed everyone. They failed the people, they've failed her, they've failed everything they ever stood for. It was Dooku who saved her. It was him who practically raised her. Not the Jedi. He is her master, no one else.

Ahsoka scans the room the fight started in. The objects scattered hither and thither are the only reminder of the fight that just occurred, aside from the hole and broken window farther up. Nothing major. If the Separatists get control of this planet – she has her doubts they will – at least this place won't be hard to fix up.

She picks up her cloak and pulls it back on, flipping the hood back over her head. Something about wearing it feels a lot more Sith-like, which is probably why she does it so much. It's time for her to go, now, to carry out her next mission.

Not long later, the Trident assault ship is exiting from hyperspace above the sand covered planet of Tatooine. The droids' scans quickly track down the landspeeders moving through the desert, carrying Rotta.

Ahsoka seats herself in the pilot seat, maneuvering the ship over the three skiffs beneath. This will be easier than she thought.

"Fire on the right one," she orders, glancing at the battle droid controlling the guns.

"Yes sir... I mean ma'am, sir," the droid replies obediently as it open fires. Red laser bolts rain down on the skiff, instantly exploding it in flames. It crashes onto the sand below in a smoking pile of debris. She immediately hit the control for the long tentacle arms of the Trident ship. They close around the center skiff carrying Rotta, lifting it far above the ground.

Immediately increasing elevation, Ahsoka speeds the ship directly up into the sky, leaving the other skiff far behind. As soon as she's a safe distance away from any life forms, she needs to get down there and bring Rotta onto the main ship to ensure nothing happens to him. Really, this has gone really smoothly so far, maybe too smoothly. Hopefully, it will stay that way.

Ahsoka presses a few buttons, and a hologram of Dooku materializes. "Master," she begins, bowing slightly in respectful greeting. "I have brought Jabba's son to the abandoned monastery. He will be safe here."

"Good, good," nods Dooku. Suddenly, another figure materializes in the hologram beside him, making her heart skip a beat. She lowers her gaze instantly, kneeling in front of the figure, not wanting to look upon Darth Sidious. Being a Sith, there's really only three things that scare Ahsoka, and Sidious is top on the list.

"Everything is going as planned," the Sith Master rasps.

"Yes, my lord," she repeats automatically, a shiver running down her spine. She much prefers dealing with Dooku. At least she has something to respect him for. Dooku has the best of the galaxy in mind, even if the method is not exactly appreciated. Sidious only cares for himself. The rest of the galaxy could be reduced to smoldering ash and he could care less as long as he remained untouched.

"Soon the Jedi will not only be at war with you, Count, but with the Hutt Clan as well," he gloats, before the transmission finally breaks, leaving her feeling strangely on edge, even though he's already gone. It always feels like a tangible darkness lingers in the room after she talks to him. Ahsoka hastily rises to her feet, moving to look out the viewport of the ship at the Teth landscape. Before long, the action will begin. She cannot fail.

***

As the gunship slowly lands, Anakin spots Obi-Wan talking to Yoda a distance away. Large groups of clones surround them, assumedly the group that flew in with Yoda to reinforce them. The worst of the battle here is over, and they haven't seen or heard from the mysterious Sith assassin anymore, though they did manage to at least get her name out of Slick. Ahsoka Tano.

Anakin steps out of the ship, pausing to glance back to his clone commander. "Thanks for the ride."

"Anytime, sir," Rex replies.

"Master Obi-Wan," Anakin acknowledges, approaching the pair. "Master Yoda."

"Anakin," Obi-Wan greets him warmly. "We were just discussing the discovery of Dooku's assassin."

"She's hardly a threat," Anakin objects, crossing his arms.

"No," Obi-Wan agrees, "But could easily be used as a distraction, like she was here."

Of course. There's not much else she can do, other than running around on random, unimportant assignments from Dooku. Anakin feels a sudden surge of irritation that he would send a child on missions like that.

"Hmm. An important part of the war, she is not," Master Yoda interjects finally, his gaze turning to the Jedi Knight. "But an important mission you have, Skywalker."

Something about the way he says it gives Anakin the instant impression he's not going to like what the Jedi Grandmaster is about to say. "What?" he asks, almost warily.

"Go to the Teth system, you must. Kidnapped, Jabba the Hutt's son has been," Master Yoda relates.

"You want me to rescue Jabba's son?" he exclaims incredulously. Why is this even a job for the Jedi? Anakin has no desire to get involved with those Hutts again. They're the ones who sold him and his mother into slavery, and – Force. That will no doubt lead him straight back to Tatooine, the planet he hoped never to lay eyes on again. He doesn't even want to go in the vicinity again.

"Anakin, we'll need the Hutt's allegiance to give us an advantage over Dooku," Obi-Wan interrupts his former padawan's thoughts.

"Negotiate the treaty with Jabba, Obi-Wan will," Master Yoda adds, "Find the renegades that hold Jabba's son, your mission will be, Skywalker." There's almost a hint of sympathy and understanding in the grandmaster's tone.

Anakin does not like this. At all. "We can't trust the Hutts!" he argues.

"If we don't find him, then Dooku will," Obi-Wan points out.

Anakin sighs in resignation. It doesn't seem like he has much of a choice in the matter. If it will really help bring a faster end to the war, it will be worth it. "Fine, then. I'll go."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you liked this maybe consider reviewing or leaving kudos...? :)
> 
> Three new stories I've started releasing recently (excluding this one) which I hope you'll consider reading:
> 
> \- Path to War (sequel to Coming of Dawn where Anakin has a twin sister who saved Qui-Gon's life :P)
> 
> \- Walk of Nightmares (story where Luke and Vader share a vision of the end of ROTJ before Luke surrenders)
> 
> \- Morning Mischief (a one-shot with Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Ahsoka fluff)


	2. Skies of Teth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, here's the next chapter! :) I'm not sure if I'll be able to release chapter 3 on March 22st, so if I don't I'll release it the following week instead along with Brotherhood. :P

Indigo trees cover the rugged mountainous surface of the planet. The forest floor below is brown tinged with purple, and the sky itself is lavender, covered with white swirly clouds. As the gunships descend to the surface, Anakin's comm beeps. It's Obi-Wan.

"All right, Anakin, here's the story," he reports, "Jabba has given us only one planetary rotation to get his son back home to Tatooine safe and sound."

"Won't take us that long, Master," Anakin assures him cheerfully.

"Well, take extreme care," he warns, "We have no idea who's holding Jabba's son. When I've finished negotiations with him, I will join you." The hologram flickers off as he disconnects the call.

Between the swirling clouds, Anakin can make out large structures looming. His destination is the tallest of the bunch, the one they're heading straight towards.

The ship suddenly jolts wildly as an explosion rips past. Another shot from the tower ahead strikes one of the nearby ships and it bursts into flames. More shots ring out, some striking other ships.

"We're taking heavy fire!" calls the clone flying the ship.

"Close the blast shields, Lieutenant! Get us under those guns!" Anakin orders.

"Yes, sir. Here we go." The doors to the gunship slide shut, plunging it into darkness, which is illuminated momentarily by a red light. With a final jolt, the ship lands on the ground moments later and the doors slide open.

Anakin pulls off his outer robe, letting it fall to the floor of the gunship as he jumps out, lightsaber igniting in his mechanical hand. He runs forwards heading for the wall, the clones right behind. The droids from atop the wall open fire on the group, and the Republic cannons start shooting back. One blast hits its mark, and the area explodes along with the nearby droids.

The group continues moving forwards, finally coming to a stop at the bottom of the wall to take cover from the constant firing. Another droid moves to the very edge, trying to spot them with macrobinoculars. Anakin yanks it down with the Force, beheading it as it hits the ground, before turning to the finally readied clones. They fire grappling hooks up the wall.

"Rex, follow me!" Anakin calls, Force-jumping several feet up and catching onto the one nearest to him.

"Yes sir! Working on it," he replies.

Anakin begins his assent in the lead, holding on with one hand and deflecting blaster bolts from the battle droids shooting down at them with his right hand. The walkers are beginning to ascend the wall at his right, shooting up at the droids on top. He cuts through a falling super battle droid which gets close to him.

A sudden explosion rings out at the front foot of one of the walkers, nearly dislodging it. The same moment, danger flares through the Force, drawing his attention to the group of four battle droids on speeders flying towards them. They're shooting at the walkers, trying to knock them down before they get too high up the cliff. No, he's not going to let that happen. Unbeknownst to the foolish battle droids, their speeders provide Anakin with the perfect opportunity to end the battle faster.

He lets go of the rope going up the side of the lavender cliff, letting himself fall until he's close enough to the first speeder. Anakin's lightsaber slices through the droid, and he jumps to the next as soon as it's in range until they're all destroyed. He kicks the fourth off its speeder, spinning around and taking the seat.

Anakin flies the speeder upwards towards the top of the wall, shooting down the droids that pose the biggest threats as he goes. As he shoots down more of the droids, it gives the clones still trying to ascend the wall an easier time. By the time he nears the top, the intensity of the firing is increasing since the droids have a much better shot at him now. A stray bolt hits the speeder, and he jumps into the middle of the platform as the speeder bursts into flames.

The droid circle around him. "Surrender, Jedi," orders one of the battle droids in a monotone.

Anakin's lightsaber reignites and he stands up, slashing it in half, whirling to face the others as they start shooting. He throws two battle droids over the wall, then yanks another onto his lightsaber only to shove it off, smashing into a couple others behind it. The remainder are down in seconds between deflecting a few blaster bolts and being cut in half.

Anakin looks up from the destroyed mechanisms lying about, at the clatter of three destroyer droids rolling towards him from the building's entrance. Oh, great. Those have nearly impenetrable shields. Positioning themselves, they aim to fire at him, only for a sudden explosion to ring out. The destroyers are instantly transformed into a pile of smoldering rubble.

He spins around. One of the tanks is right behind him, having just come over the edge.

"All clear, General," says Rex as he approaches.

"Nice work, Rex," Anakin complements, glancing around at the devastation, "Have some men look after the wounded."

There are too many droids from them to be renegades. Of that, Anakin is certain. There was an entire army awaiting him here. Dooku definitely has a hand in this, as he suspected from the start. Reaching into the Force, Anakin gets the sensation of something... No. Someone. A lingering darkness in the shadows, the same sense he'd gotten back on Christophsis.

Is Ahsoka here? It's not impossible. Her Force-presence is remaining strangely elusive when he tries reaching for it. She might have been here recently, but Anakin suspects it's that Dooku has given her some training on how to mask her presence. Regardless, he has to hurry and find Rotta and get out before she interferes.

Anakin turns and heads down the walkway between the towering columns towards the door. It slowly lifts open, revealing a long shadowy hallway. The clones turn on the lights on their helmets while he reaches out with the Force.

"I don't like this place. It gives me the creeps," Rex mutters from behind him.

Anakin doesn't sense immediate danger, but there is something. The sapphire blade hisses to life instinctively and the clone's lights focus on a protocol droid approaching the group.

"Who are you?" Anakin demands sharply, lightsaber pointed at it.

"Merely the humble caretaker, O mighty sir," says the droid, "You have liberated me from those dreadful battle bots. I am most thankful."

He pulls back the blade, turning it off. He senses the words aren't the full truth, but there's no immediate danger. "Where is the Hutt?" the Jedi demands.

"The battle bots kept their prisoners on the detention level. I must warn you it is very dangerous down there, my friend," it cautions. Maybe, for most. Not for him.

"Captain, I'll get the Hutt," Anakin tells Rex, "Stay here and keep your eyes open."

"Copy that, sir," he replies.

***

Ahsoka enters the mostly dark room in the higher levels of the tower, her quiet footsteps still managing a faint echo. She comes to a stop between the two lines of super battle droids, the few she didn't send out to intercept the Jedi, standing along the halls. The mission is well underway, going perfectly as planned. It's time for her to contact her master.

She dials his frequency into her commlink, and moments later the hologram appears. "They have taken the monastery, Master," Ahsoka reports, "Skywalker is here. He's on his way to rescue the Hutt."

"Well done, Ahsoka," Dooku responds. A faint smile makes its way onto her face at the praise. The times she hears it are far and few between. "All is going according to plan."

"I could attack them now, Master," Ahsoka suggests, "They're right inside here, and they wouldn't have a way to get out. I'd take them by surprise, and they'd be at a disadvantage. The longer I stay here, the more likely it will be for Skywalker to sense me."

"Patience," Dooku replies, "Collect the data I need. You will get your chance soon enough."

A soft sigh escapes her. She didn't expect him to agree, but still hoped he would. "As you wish, Master."

The hologram fades as a battle droid steps into the doorway behind Ahsoka. "Mistress, the Jedi has entered the dungeons." Good. Soon, he'll have Rotta, and they'll be able to get moving. Ahsoka does not like waiting around. She never has and never will. That's the only thing that has never changed as long as she can remember, even back when she was a child.

Ahsoka heads over to the window overlooking the platform where the clones are standing around, waiting for Skywalker to return with the huttlet. The protocol droid stands next to her, with its camera ready. Must he take so long? The droids down there weren't supposed to attack him, so where is he? Ahsoka suppresses the urge to pace back and forth lest she miss the window of opportunity. No need to make a mistake as foolish as that. Finally, the Jedi Knight walks into view holding Rotta, his droid rolling along behind him. The Jedi sets the Huttlet on the ground and places him in a backpack.

"Now," Ahsoka hisses. The protocol droid zooms in on them, taking a brief holo recording. Perfect. Next stage complete.

Or maybe this is not so good. The huttlet doesn't look very good. Ahsoka carefully reaches out with the Force, brushing his presence. He's very unhappy and scared. Actually, he might be sick too. Wonderful. Not. Another problem to add to the list. Dooku will not be happy if he dies before Ahsoka can get him... and she won't even begin to think about Sidious.

They back away from the window, and she hastily calls Dooku again. "My lord, I have the recording you requested."

"Transmit it at once," he commands, "Your new objective is to recover the Hutt."

"And deliver him to Jabba unharmed?" Ahsoka inquires. He better say yes. She doesn't think she could ever hurt him. He's too young and far too adorable to dream of harming. Sith aren't supposed to have emotions like that, but she can hardly help it. Sure, she has a lot of anger and hatred as Sith are supposed to, but it's not strong enough to make her want to hurt innocents. She has more restraint than a Sith should in that regard.

"Precisely," Dooku confirms, giving her a stern look, "Do not fail me." He disconnects the call.

Ahsoka heads back into the droid command center. Finally, it's time to commence the attack.

***

The droid ships slowly approach the monastery, vulture droids in front. They swoop down from the sky, open firing on the clones. As their ships land, Ahsoka opens the door to let out the long lines of battle droids and super battle droids. She hates this. Clones are still living beings, not droids, and they have a right to live. They have individualistic minds, even if they all look the same. They don't deserve to go down in a war no one understands, but she doesn't have a choice. This fight must be won. Maybe sometime, she should try creating a super-stun weapon that knocks out all living beings in the area. That would be very effective, though neither Dooku nor Sidious would be particularly impressed with the idea.

The clones start shooting back, and their tanks open fire in return as the droids march in through the entrance. The spider droids move forwards next, forcing the clones to retreat.

As the doors to the compound finally slam shut with Skywalker and the 501st inside, Ahsoka walks up to the droids and raises a hand, signaling them to stop shooting.

"Mistress, the Jedi have barricaded themselves inside the main vault," one reports.

"They've got nowhere to run," she retorts calmly. Now it's a matter of getting inside. It will be easy from then on. Not like Ahsoka needs to kill the Jedi, just outsmart him so she can get the Huttlet and escape. She's fought him. He's not nearly as skilled as her master, though certainly more than she is.

Two battle droids approach the control on the wall and start poking at it, attempting to find a way to open the door. "The red one?" asks the first.

"No."

"The blue one?"

"No, not that one!"

Ahsoka groans aloud, unable to stop herself. There is no time for this nonsense. Those droids take forever to figure anything out. They really should have been designed with more intelligence. She should have a talk with Dooku about it sometime. She activates her lightsaber, slashing through the controls, ignoring their yelps of surprise.

As the door begins to slide open again, Ahsoka steps inside first, igniting her lightsabers. The droids start firing from behind her with their familiar red blaster bolts, and the clones return with blue fire. Ahsoka rips the blaster away from one of them, throwing him into the wall. This will be like most of her fights. She doesn't want to kill them, but she'll do what she has to for the mission. She tries to knock out as many as possible, moving almost robotically forwards as she goes.

Once all the clones are down – most of them unconscious – Ahsoka turns to the droids. "Secure the entrance. I'll go after Skywalker."

"Roger, roger," it recites obediently.

"Seal the main gate and all portals. Let nothing escape this castle," she adds, turning away to the clones. One of them should be able to give her the information she needs to know, even if he won't give it willingly. One thing she's learned about clones is that they're surprisingly easy to mind trick.

"Yes, Mistress."

Danger ripples through the Force suddenly, and Ahsoka whirls around, igniting her lightsaber. One of the clones – she thinks it might be the captain – fires his blaster at the droid standing next to her. It falls to the floor as he fires again, this time at Ahsoka. She deflects the bolt, simultaneously ripping the blaster from his hands. "Where is Skywalker?" Ahsoka demands sharply, stalking towards him.

"I don't talk to Separatist scum," he snaps. How polite of him.

"You will contact Skywalker now," Ahsoka commands, throwing the weight of the Force into her words. It's the best way to get information from people, she's realized. The best way without hurting anyone.

He hesitates for a moment. "I will contact Skywalker now..." he slowly repeats in a monotone, before speaking into his comm. "Anakin, come in!" No answer.

"We've held the droids, sir. What is your location?" No response. This is useless, Ahsoka decides with a hint of annoyance. She'll have to find the Jedi on her own. Closing her eyes, she reaches out into the Force.

***

The door at the top of the stairs slides open, a small amount of light flooding the otherwise almost completely dark room. The familiar short, hooded figure stalks down the stairs followed by a group of clankers.

Anakin ignites his lightsaber, moving into position as she approaches. Artoo, with Rotta in the backpack having been attached to him, rolls backwards out of the way. Anakin had tired of carrying the huttlet himself, putting the backpack on his astromech instead.

"Master Skywalker, I've been looking forward to running into you again," she informs him cheerfully.

"So have I," he retorts, eyes narrowing. Artoo rolls to a nearby computer port, out of view of Ahsoka, plugging himself into the wall. For the second time in the past few days, the floor beneath him suddenly gives out, and he hits the ground far below. He pulls himself to his feet and looks up to where the assassin landed on her feet a short distance away with agility only a Togruta could have. Her ruby blade hisses to life, and she lunges for him.

Anakin parries her first blow with the same ease as before, dodging sideways when the droids start shooting at him. He raises a hand and Force-shoves her backwards, throwing her off balance long enough to jump over her head, cutting one of the super battle droids in half. He spins around, deflecting a few bolts and cutting down both regular battle droids.

But then Ahsoka is jumping at him again and he rolls aside, letting the ruby blade stab into the metal floor. Growling, she slashes towards him again, only to be intercepted with the sapphire lightsaber as Anakin leaps to his feet. He shoves her backwards, pointing the end of his blade towards her. "Surrender, and save yourself the humiliation," Anakin warns, smoothly stepping sideways so the droids can't shoot at him without hitting Ahsoka. Of course, they all temporarily hold their fire, letting him focus solely on the assassin.

Ahsoka lunges at him again, her blades moving in unison, but Anakin has her on the defensive in a matter of moments. She's fighting better, he notices, now that she can focus her attention completely on him, but she has a very, very long ways to go before being worthy to be deemed an actual threat. Not that she doesn't have the potential.

Ahsoka spins around to parry another blow, taking a step back. Her lightsabers cross as Anakin slashes down towards her again, blades clashing into a saber-lock. He Force-shoves her again, much stronger this time. She hits the ground near the wall, dropping one of her lightsabers. The droids start shooting again now that their superior is effectively out of the way, and Anakin deflects one bolt into one of them and stabs the other.

He turns around in search of the assassin, wondering why she hadn't jumped him yet, only to see her on the side of the room Artoo is, Force-jumping towards the top of the wall. Her jump falls just short of the top, and she stabs her lightsabers into it to keep from falling all the way back down. She does a flip midair, catching herself with her lightsabers again before jumping the rest of the way out of the pit.

Well, Anakin might normally be impressed, but right now, he's concerned she'll get Rotta before he can get out. Glancing around to make sure the rest of the droids have been defeated – they are – he gathers the Force to himself, jumping out of the pit.

As he lands on the edge, a furious whistle form Artoo draws his attention to the far side of the room. Ahsoka is striding towards him. Another Force-wave catches her, slamming her hard into the wall. She falls to the floor and doesn't move to get up immediately.

"Come on, Artoo," Anakin calls over his shoulder, hurrying for the doorway. They don't have a moment to waste. She could be up any moment now.

Thankfully, it doesn't take long for them to reach the landing platform Artoo had found in the floorplans of right before Ahsoka arrived. Darkness is slowly descending on the planet, the bright moon reflecting off the purple clouds. A space battle is starting to rage up above. Continuous fire is being exchanged between the clones' ships and vulture droids. Well, at least Obi-Wan is finally here. Anakin was starting to wonder if he'd run into trouble on the way.

He hastily dials the code into his comm. "Skywalker to Obi-Wan. Mark my position. I need a medical ship immediately. Do you copy?"

The sole response is static crackling form the other end. They're clearly being jammed. "This is just getting better and better," Anakin mutters. He has to get Rotta out before he dies or something. Not that he necessarily would, but the fever is only getting worse. Which leaves Anakin to turn to his second-best option, who is here on the ground and hopefully isn't being affected by the jamming.

"Come in, Rex. Do you copy? Rex?" There is no response from the other end, aside from the faint sounds of battle droids talking and shooting. "Do you copy?" Anakin calls again, "Captain Rex, respond."

"I read you, General," the clone replies, "We're pinned down in the courtyard."

"Do you need help?" he asks urgently. There is an explosion from the other side before the answer comes through.

"No, sir," Rex responds, above the sound of distant blaster fire, "We're fine. Most of us are still alive."

Anakin lets out a sigh of relief as the connection breaks. He was honestly expecting worse. Either Ahsoka really doesn't know how to fight, or she wasn't trying to kill them. He isn't sure which. Considering how she'd fought him, she could have killed all the clones if she tried, which means she must not have been, but that doesn't make sense. She's a Sith. Now that he thinks back to the feeling of her Force-presence, she is lighter than Dooku. Somewhere in the gray region, though more dark than light.

Maybe she's not too far lost in the Dark Side after all, Anakin wonders. If Ahsoka catches up with him out here – he's fairly certain she will – he'll try to look closer. It's impossible to turn someone back, he knows that, but he can't deny the light he senses there, and it's making him wonder if she's really too far gone, or if there's still a way to save her before she loses herself in the darkness.

It doesn't make sense for him to feel like this, considering she is a Sith assassin despite it all, but he's not going to leave her like this, not if he has a choice. Ahsoka does not belong as a Sith, even if she's close to Falling. Of that, Anakin is certain.

But right now, he has to focus on the problem at hand. Namely, trying to get Rotta to Tatooine, when he has no idea how to do that. He doesn't have a ship, but he's here on his own. A sudden noise behind Anakin catches his attention and he whirls around. Three destroyers are rolling towards him, and he starts reaching for his lightsaber, only for the door to slam shut in front of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you liked this maybe consider reviewing or leaving kudos...? :)
> 
> I released a new fanfic yesterday called The Unseen, where Ahsoka and Obi-Wan go to investigate Vader's mysterious disappearance after he performs a Sith ritual to imprison himself in his own perfect mental reality until death. It's darkish... Lol. I'd appreciate it if you checked it out. :D


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